“Although great pain will never fully disappear, small happiness, when accumulated, is powerful enough to eclipse the misery.”

As adults, many of us still watch the cartoons and play the video games of our childhoods as a mechanism to escape the harsh realities of adulthood. Because these mediums draw from a nostalgia that connects us to our inner child, artist Carbonn Black chooses to tell his stories through the familiar elements from games and cartoons. This exhibition foregrounds the artist’s belief that no matter how old we are, we are still children at heart. 

For many people, reflecting on childhood elicits happy memories filled with playfulness, curiosity, and imagination. Yet for others, reflecting upon childhood can bring back complicated emotions related to difficult situations they experienced as a child. For Carbonn Black, his visual art practice functions as a way to resolve his childhood traumas; which are embodied by his new character “Watchboy”. Watchboy is inspired by Carbonn Black’s own characteristics and personal experiences: Watchboy is depicted as a mouthless creature with large round eyes forever observing and absorbing his surroundings. With two horns and an irritated expression, he stands out as a social misfit who feels voiceless and powerless wherever he goes.

As an exhibition, “Safe House No. 7” represents a safe space to once again become a child by indulging in games and cartoons: a powerful means of escapism where pain is alleviated as soon as we sit down, plug in, and press play.